A Spider, A Goblin, And Some Turkeys
by Kam I Am
Summary: It's Thanksgiving here in New York. Peter Parker has only been SPIDER-MAN for three months but the city already seems to love him - so much that they've even included a float of him in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But are their intentions really in admiration? Could there be... Darker forces at play?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: Any companies or properties mentioned in this piece are purely made on a fan basis. I OWN NOTHING. **

**- A/N: Smaller story inspired by the recent festivities. Should be a couple more chapters to come. Hope you guys enjoy!**

**738 Winter Garden Drive Forest Hills, Queens, New York**

From frigid night the morning brought with it an even colder stream of air. The commonly placed two story houses of this suburb in Queens appeared to almost huddle themselves together in search of warmth. In the middle of this effort was the home of May and Peter Parker. While the former had awoken early and was hurriedly cooking for festivities later in the day, the latter was sleeping off what had been another long night of crime fighting and essay writing. As the clock strikes seven…

_**Dingdingdingding!**_

He awoke to find himself sprawled out on the wooden floors of his makeshift bedroom in the suburban home's attic. His face was buried in a Molecular Physics Textbook with a growing pool of drool forming on page 394. Growling angrily to himself he wiped off the bit extending from his lip but paused as a sudden twinge of Spider-Sense made his hair stand on end. The sixth sense allowed him the ability to hear, smell, and quite nearly _feel_ that a person was on the other end of his door – but the question was who?

"Peter…? Peter? You there, dear?"

Chucking softly at himself he slowly raised his head from the book and replied with,

"Yeah Aunt May, just woke up, lemme just –"

With a simple push of his hands he'd shot himself from the floor straight into a backwards flip and landed himself right in the middle of his bed. He outstretched his hands as if in a pose before shutting off his ringing alarm with a quick splurt of webbing from his wrists. With another second he was twirling out of bed and -

"Oh!"

Aunt May yelped, startled perhaps by the speed at which Peter had crossed his room and opened the door knob.

_Shoot, gotta focus on restraining my powers around her. After all that red and blue laundry last week she might start suspecting something…_

For a moment the sweet-hearted old Aunt May looked at her nephew with a mix of deep concern and what Peter began to worry was suspicion. Finally she shook her head and smiled as if nothing had happened.

"Did you finish that Science Report you've been working on yet sweetheart?"

"Science Project? Uh… -"  
His eyes scanned his room for the stack of papers in question.

"Yup! Just about anyways, I think I'll do some last minute revision stuff later today at the Library.

"Well, I don't think you'll be getting to that today then Peter – it's Thanksgiving!

He cursed silently to himself as his eyes shot to the calendar in the corner of his room.

_She's right._

Thanksgiving this year would be a mixed bag for the family. Uncle Ben had passed away only a few months back and his empty seat at the table was an ever constant reminder. Aunt May had finally moved the chair away as they had both found their eyes occasionally drifting over to it. As if sensing this sudden line of thought his Aunt chimed in and said,

"Don't worry though; Midtown's extended the Thanksgiving Break to tomorrow so I'm sure you can head off to the library then."

Breathing a sigh of relief at the small victory he nodded happily towards his Aunt. Remembering his duties as a freelancer for the Bugle he said,

"Right, I guess I'll get changed then, after breakfast I'll be heading down to get some shots of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for Jonah."

"Alright dear, make sure to bundle up and – Oh! I've just remembered, the Watsons didn't have any other plans so I've asked them both to come down and celebrate Thanksgiving with us later today! Isn't that great?"

_Mary Jane?_

His hands suddenly became a bit clammy and a bucket of butterflies seemed to fill his stomach just at the thought of her… being here… with _him_. It was different on neutral territory but this was his _house_, if he couldn't impress her here there was a snowball's chance in hell he could be anything more than just "that guy who lives next door". He scratched the back of his head nervously; both happy and extremely apprehensive at the chance her and her aunt being here would give him.

"That's… That's wonderful Aunt May. I'll have to make sure to develop the shots from the parade early to show everyone."

As Peter began to think about it he realized it was no surprise why Aunt May had invited company for Thanksgiving. Very little had been said about Uncle Ben in the months since his funeral, they were still in that transitionary period where they would occasionally, for the smallest of moments, believe he was still coming home from work, or off working on the car, or simply out reading in the backyard. But each time these thoughts occurred Peter's brain would slowly – as if reveling in the glumness of it all – come to realize that Uncle Ben was truly dead, never to come back. _**Ever**_.

Those moments were painful. The wave of agony the memory brought on him pierced his heart all at once.

Peter jerked his head suddenly as if to shake the thought of it all out.

_No. Today should be a happy day._

And so it would be.

Peter took the stairs three at a time all the way down to the kitchen. It had been a near routine since his Spider powers had first set in over three months ago. While in those first formative days of his power discovery the routine had simply been done out of sheer joy at being able to perform the feat he had slowly began experimenting with the process. While at first it had been timing himself for speed – a record 2.67 seconds – it had now shifted to a focus on stealth, lessening the noise of each step or coming in at angle where Aunt May couldn't see him from her kitchen vantage point.

The same change of perspective could be seen in his abilities as Spider-Man as a whole. While a simple thug encounter in the beginning might have left him nursing a few bruised ribs he was now able to juggle two bank robberies and a convenience store hold up – that had been done in the last night alone coupled with a twelve page science report. Though admittedly a six-pack of Redbull _had_ been exhausted in the process.

As he took a seat at the kitchen table he rubbed his temples to assuage the headache caused by this caffeinated venture.

_Late night escapades as Spidey might be fun – but they sure aren't easy to come back from in the mornings._

Peter was interrupted from the musing as a few pieces of toast were plumped down in front of him.

"What? No four course breakfast?"

"We're fresh out of cereal… and eggs… and milk… and - Besides, you'll want to save your appetite for later tonight anyways."

_Doesn't mean I have to starve in the morning. _

He bit down on his lip to prevent him from uttering the quip. If the lack of food was any indication times had been tough without Uncle Ben for more than one reason. Any more thinking on that depressing front was interrupted by the turning on of the Channel Nine news.

"Hey Marsha, can you hear me? Tell us what they've set up out there for the Parade this year."

"Well Joel, they've got all the favorites here! Snoopy of course, Kermit the Frog, Uh... Pikachu! But there's going to be a few surprises here as well, it's a new lineup of floats. They're calling it an Ode to The Heroes. They'll have a Captain America float, a Tony Stark led Iron Man float, and even a bit of a surprise with this last one... **Spider-Man!**"

"That certainly sounds exciting! We'll be back with you a little closer to the Parade time then Marsha, keep us updated."

Peter thoughtfully munched his toast.

_This makes things more interesting. _

While a decent shot of the Parade floats would find him some dough, a shot of the parade with a _Spider-Man _floatwas worth a million times more. And who was to stop the real Spider-Man from swinging by? Mr. Stark had no problems showing off his helium filled contraption – which he no doubt paid for himself – and taking in the adoring crowd in the process. What was wrong with Spidey doing the same thing? A little reaffirmation that he was doing a good thing was welcome after the all-nighter he had pulled the previous night.

Making up his mind Peter snapped at the last bit of toast and then went for his bag and jacket in the corner.

"Leaving already? Bit ahead of schedule don't you think?"

Aunt May asked, the concern obvious in her voice.

"Don't wanna get stuck at the back of the crowds – I think this'll be a Parade to remember."

And for more reasons than one it truly would be.


	2. Chapter 2

**AS, AG, AST Chapter TWO**

**A/N: Hey Folks! Glad to have you back and reading Chapter Two. I'd like to apologize for the long wait on this one. Though with all the Finals prep I've been doing I'm hoping you guys can understand. Unfortunately there is still more School stuff to be done but I DO hope to have another chapter out within the next few weeks. My other story, Trouble from the Dead (totally NOT self-plugging here), is what I'm currently writing up a chapter for. I think things will out work best if I just alternate writing chapters between the two. See you soon-ish!**

As soon as Peter had stepped out his door the brisk November air whipped him right across the face and forced him to recoil.

"Fuuuudge, somebody leave a freezer open or something?"

The silence from the surrounding homes left him with a fairly resounding "'no".

_Mother Nature must just be conspiring against my costumed endeavors again then… _

He had planned to web-swing most of the way downtown to get to the Parade but weathering the frigid conditions in his thin spandex costume was less than ideal. Pursing his lips for a moment he thought about going back inside to put on some extra layers – but that would involve admitting to Aunt May that it felt subzero outside and those words were nearly a guarantee that she wouldn't let him back out.

Sighing at his Aunt's worries he began working out a different way to get inside. Doubling back to the side of the house he quickly glanced around to ensure his exploits were unseen. Without sparing another moment he dug his shoes deep into the ground before propelling himself upwards - all the way until he was able to grab hold of the outer paneling of his attic window on the second floor. Struggling to find a firm grip on the paneling he quickly brought the fingers of his left hand down and across the window sill. Something which he had begun to learn to conveniently leave just the slightest bit open for cases like this.

Finding the narrow space between window and sill he forced it up with two fingers and gave himself enough space to crawl through the opening. Landing with a small thud on the wooden floors below he shifted over to the overflowing dresser in the corner of his room. Brushing off the layer of dust on top he quickly went through the drawers one by one. Tossing clothes here and there it took him until the fourth compartment for his eyes to find what they were looking for – a pair of gloves and some thermal wear given to him by Uncle Ben for a Boy Scouts camp-out they'd gone on together.

Pulling the clothing items out of their drawer he laid them both out on his unmade bed. He admired the thermals for a moment. They were an old pair – stitched up more than once by his Aunt May and had resultantly become a mish-mash of colored patches.

_Yeesh, I've already got enough people bagging on the current costume – I'd love to hear what the haters would say if I started bumbling around with only these on. _

Peter mused as he pulled his right foot through the thermal's pants hole. Once he had finished with the thermals he quickly donned his costume again and followed it up with his jacket and jeans. Finally satisfied with his level of winter protection he begun to open his window but paused for a moment.

The most interesting question to answer every day was how he would travel from the suburbia of his home in Queens to the sky scraped lands of Manhattan. The quaint two story housing of his neighborhood was far too minuscule to complete the full arcs needed for a proper web-swing. And even if the houses were to miraculously grow another ten stories something told Peter the homeowners would not appreciate all the web lines he'd leave streaming from their windows. Generally his solution was to catch a ride atop an unknowing semi-truck but none were around to offer assistance, in fact the entire street seemed vacant. A number of people were undoubtedly headed down to watch the Parade.

_Pffft that's great, leave your friendly neighborhood Spider out to dry the one day he needs you._

As if to answer his prayers his heightened senses picked up the rumblings of a garage opening not too far away. Peering through the blinds to his window he spotted none other than Mrs. Watson along with her niece Mary Jane pulling out of their garage in a mid-sized SUV. Giving way to a wonderful prospect, his first instinct was to don his costume and sneak atop the vehicle. Then again…

_Whoa, I don't want to go full on creeper mode and freak out MJ… Anymore then I have been lately anyways._

And he wouldn't be, he told himself. This was simply one neighbor catching a ride from another neighbor - unknowingly. The latter being kind, beautiful, and also whose plans involved coming over to his house for dinner later that night. He _really_ didn't want to screw that up by having her find him clinging to the top of her car.

Still, what choice did he have? With all the festivities going on the transit system would be far too occupied to get him to the parade on time and the Watson's were already beginning to head down the street… The decision had to be made now.

Unyielding to his second guesses he threw on his mask and in one grandiose maneuver had gone through the window, over the Watson's house, and onto their moving vehicle some thirty yards away.

"Whew!"

Peter called out in relief before cringing at the large "_**THUD!" **_his leap had made. Fortunately the pair of ladies were too busy with the car's radio to notice the noise. While Mrs. Watson was insisting on the local news station Mary Jane had tried changing to a hard rock station. Chuckling at their dispute he quickly ensured that his mask was stuck firmly over his head.

For a moment he contemplated the urge to stick his ear against the side of the SUV's roof and use his heightened senses to hear their conversation; perhaps they would be talking about the parade, perhaps it would be about the Dinner later tonight… Maybe Mary Jane would mention him.

_Yeah, if only… _

Instead he forced himself to look straight ahead. His power to cling enabled him to stick firmly to the car's roof – even when Mrs. Watson made an incredibly sharp turn that would have flung him into incoming traffic.

_**Thirty Minutes Later**_

For most, things that once seemed and felt exhilarating would slowly begin to lose their luster. Rather it was one's sentiment of "been there done that" or simply a loss of interest in general.

But web-swinging? That was an entirely different case. Peter had been doing it for over four months and still he had always, _always_, found something new to try. Just last week he had made the discovery that "web-parachuting" was possible. He had been in pursuit of an escaping helicopter full of robbers at the time. A pursuit which ended in failure due to a "slightly" poor judgment call he made on a web-line he had intended for the fleeing aircraft. The miss had left him plunging to the ground but with some quick thinking his single strand of webbing had developed into an interconnected grid that had lessened his fall just enough to ensure that he wouldn't become part of the pavement.

A smile never left his face as he thought back to the event. It had been one of many memorable moments in his four months as the costumed vigilante. He raced through thoughts of encounters with thugs, the cunning crime lord Tombstone, and the craziest foe of all three – The Green Goblin. He shuddered just at the name; he'd only encountered the villain twice so far but both times had left him with a string of injuries and threats of vengeance. Needless to say the foe was not one he was opening to meet again soon.

In mid-swing he finally located the area of town he had been looking for.

He sat himself atop of a towering structure just parallel to a massive Investor's Firm. From up above his vantage point a number of the cities' largest attractions were made apparent - just down the street he could see a massive Cathedral and not even a block away from that lay the hub for the local news. Though right between the peaks of the tallest buildings he noted signs of greenery – giving way to the tranquility that was Central Park. Admittedly these were all landmarks he'd seen before but up until four months ago they had _never _been from this high. To say the crowded groups of Parade goers looked like ants was an understatement. They were almost indistinguishable, simply masses of varied color.

He nudged himself into a nook between two of the skyscraper's large window panels, his Spider-Powers compensated to assure sure him he wouldn't fall. Ensuring that the frigid winds wouldn't blow it away he hastily pulled out a map he had earlier printed of the parade route. Referencing the map he noted that the march was to begin on 77th Street and would conclude near his position on 6th Avenue.

He heard the marching drums long before he saw them. So his costumed figure simply waited in muted anticipation up until their arrival. Finally spotting that first always classic float of Snoopy, Peter quickly set himself into motion and snapped a shot, then another, then he swiftly swung to the adjacent building and followed the same procedure.

_Only about a thousand more to go!_

And so the process began. Balloon after balloon, with several licensed characters scattered throughout. With well over a hundred shots taken of the first twenty balloons alone Peter soon switched his strategy to taking one shot of each balloon but in a different angle for each one.

The repetitiveness of the task began to get to him and he took a moment to catch his breath by swinging atop the roof of his original skyscraper. He chuckled slightly as he overlooked the masses of people again. As the floats were hovering high above them they had all craned their heads upwards and had ultimately seen Spider-Man swinging to and fro as well.

_I can already see JJ blaming Spidey for trying to steal the Parade's thunder…_

A sudden bang from further down the street awoke him from his musings. Jolting his head to the left Peter saw an armored figure flying higher and higher away from his float. For a moment he had planned to intervene, assuming the figure to be an attacker of some sort - but the familiar blaring of the tune to Iron Man - a Black Sabbath's classic - made him think otherwise.

_Maaaaan, Stark sure knows how to make an entrance. _

More than a little envious Peter watched as Tony Stark AKA Iron-Man took to the skies before dropping in a tight corkscrew – releasing bundles of confetti as he went. The armored man dropped back down to his float – a large tank-like vehicle painted in Red and Gold to match his suit, speakers were attached on either side with the Black Sabbath song playing on repeat.

Peter cupped his chin for a moment wondering what his own float would look like – he had no input in the design, unlike Stark he hadn't even been aware of its existence until earlier that morning!

_Bet I could get them for unlawful use of my likeness or something…_

Up next was Captain America's float. It was far less attention grabbing in comparison to Stark's but Peter preferred it's patriotism. Streamers of red, white, and blue, lay on either side of the float modeled after what appeared to be a bald eagle. Nestled in the stand where the Eagle's head usually was found was instead the Captain himself accompanied by the Mayor of New York.

The seventeen year old was beginning to feel a little star struck. While Stark had always had his set own problems to deal with the Captain had served as a shining example of what Peter had strived to be. The man had been a Superhero before the term had even been created. And yet here he was, some seventy years later still going at it, always fighting crime. He was a true example of the statement Uncle Ben had made just those few months prior. Captain America had taken on a great power and he'd done so with great responsibility.

It took a familiar glint of red and blue to bring him from his thoughts. There, maybe fifty yards behind Captain America stood another float – _his_ float. It towered high over the people, tethered by dozens of ropes by several policemen below it. The float encompassed him perfectly. His rather complex suit made the transition down to the exact stitch. It only took him a full minute to take in the approaching float before he got the itch to come swinging down, to hear the cheers of the adoring parade goers below – while Jonah may have never appreciated his exploits as Spider-Man he felt confident that these people would.

Not wasting another moment he dove from his vantage point and nearly crashed to the ground, only shooting out a web-line the split second before his feet went ground level. Every head near his portion of Sixth Avenue was turned towards him and he was quick to ensure they would not forget him. Pulling hard on his web-line he went rolling high into the air, a quick twirl gave him enough cutting room to defy gravity for a moment. Bringing his knees close to his body he went sailing down to his float in a cannonball formation.

_**Boing! **_

He allowed himself to bounce atop the float for a moment before standing up and striking a quick –and admittedly rather cheesy looking – pose. The crowd ate up the performance, giving him thunderous applause.

_Say, maybe joining the circus wouldn't be so bad after all…_

Peter remained atop the moving float with his arms crossed. Nodding his head this way and that to acknowledge the crowds of people Peter suddenly felt a jolt of Spider-Sense squirm up his spine. He didn't know how and he didn't know why but someone bad was about to reveal themselves. He wanted to move to announce the incoming threat of danger to all the people but he couldn't – there simply wasn't enough time.

_No… No… This isn't happening. This has gotta be a dream – a hoax!_

_**BOOM!**_

But it was neither. Shooting high and away from Spider-Man's quickly deflating parade balloon was the cackling monster himself – The Green Goblin.


End file.
